 Poster: A snowHead
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Record snow accumulations have been reported at over 100 locations across Japan, resulting in numerous avalanches, road closures and a train derailment. This continues the severe weather that affected the country in the days before Christmas, when widespread problems and power failures occurred.
An avalanche at Yuzawa, southern Niigata, caught 9 skiers and 3 resort workers in a hut. This report from Asahi.com.
Other avalanches are reported by The Japan Times.
Snow depths of 4 to 6 metres are being reported by numerous resorts, especially in the Niigata and Nagano prefectures, which are relatively near Tokyo. Here are the 'deepest depths', recorded by SnowJapan.com.
Japan recorded the coldest December for 20 years, with some regions experiencing their coldest December since 1946. This report from Bloomberg.com.
If anyone's out there, please let us know what it's like.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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David Goldsmith, sorry to inject a note of controversy, but if the story had been of record lack of snowfall, would you have raised the topic of climate change / global warming?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Fair question, but long-term global warming trends have nothing to do with freak fluctuations or areas of the world that might buck the trends because of their specific climates.
There's no doubt that the survival of skiing in areas like Scotland and Australia is very much in doubt this century, looking at global warming trends, with glaciers and ice-caps retreating and shrinking (sometimes rapidly) worldwide.
Japan's snow seems to bucket down quite reliably, partly due to its maritime climate.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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David Goldsmith, you may be right, although if some climate change theorists are correct, Scotland will get dramatically colder!
You're certainly right about freak fluctuations. The 'signal' of long-term climate change is buried pretty deeply in the 'noise' of short-term fluctuations. Casting aspersions at no-one in particular, the press is pretty bad at linking the weather on a given day in a given place to global climate change, and I fear that some people's perceptions are distorted as a result.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Severe conditions have also hit an area of China and its transport systems. The Xinjiang region [location map], which has a desert-type climate and normal annual precipitation of around 150mm, has experienced 60 cm of snow in recent days.
224,000 people are reported to be trapped in their homes while close to 100,000 people have been displaced by the storm.
This report from Interfax China.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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David Goldsmith, my neighbour (and ski buddy) does a lot of business in that area. In sounds similar to New Mexico / Arizona in that the climate, vegetation, etc changes dramatically with altitude. He came across lots of snow there before Christmas.
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As the article says, the avalanche was in the Naeba ski station, in Yuzawa. The other one there is Gala Yuzawa. I've been to both when there wasn't that much snow but still a lot of skiers. IIRC the runs (that were open) were quite narrow and steep and I do remember thinking to myself that if there were an avalanche, the snow would be funnelled down the runs like oversize chutes. Hope they get on top of the problem quickly and prevent further mishaps.
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An update on what appears to be a very serious snow situation in China:
Reuters reports that 100,000 people have been evacuated from Xinjiang, where snow is lying up to 1 metre deep and temperatures have fallen as low as -43C (-43F).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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-43C = -45.4F = bloody cold in anyone's money.
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Thanks, laundryman, a typo on my part.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The Japanese region of Niigata - already in crisis due to huge snowstorms - is about to come in for another hammering, according to this report from Bloomberg.com.
The army have been deployed to clear the roads. Air and high-speed rail services are having serious problems.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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This report from The Seoul Times describes an 80-year-old resident of a Japanese town needing to exit her house by a second-storey window, because the snow outside is 10ft deep.
There's a good photo of a street in the town, overwhelmed by the snow depths.
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You know it makes sense.
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The town mentioned above - Tsunan in southern Niigata Prefecture - is now apparently cut off due to avalanche threat to the connecting road. Residents of Tsunan, and nearby Sakae, now fear the collapse of their houses.
This report from Asahi.com.
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| Sumi Yamada, 78, who lives in Sakae, has about 4 meters of snow around her house. "My house is creaking due to the weight of the snow. But I cannot do anything," she said. |
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FAQ
